Antec Sonata

[Badjokesben]

How good is the PSU that comes with that particular case? How good is the case?

 

[WobbleWobble]

Very good PSU. Nice case, only complaint is that fingerprints get on the finishing easily.

 

[zodder]

And if I'm not mistaken, there's no place to mount a 120mm fan in the front.

 

[WobbleWobble]

There is a place to place the front 120mm fan and that's behind the HDD rack, so it's more in the middle. It doesn't help bring in too much cool air, but it's great at keeping HDDs cool

 

[Dman877]

The psu is a high quality 380 watt unit, more then enough for most applications. The case is good for running a quiet system with adequate cooling, for overclocking, go with a 3700BQE instead imo. The case build quality is excellent, I have some gripes though.

First, the Antec holes on the side panels seem to mess up airflow and increase dust in the system. The front vents are skimpy so not much air gets pulled through, most of the air entering the case goes through the antec holes, circumventing the air filter in the front. I have taped up the holes with clear tape, this increased temps slightly but hopefully I won't have to clean it out as much. I plan to enlarge the venting in the front at some point as well.

Also, only one side panel comes off, the panel behind the mobo tray is riveted to the frame, unlike most cases which allow you to unscrew this panel for easier access in certain areas of the case.

EDIT: If you want a quiet pc and you buy a sonata, make sure your cpu/mobo/vga fans and hard drive are ultra quiet, with passive mobo cooling, a vga silencer at 1200 rpm, and a samsung hard drive, a Panflo 80mm L1A on the cpu heatsink is the loudest part of my system.

 

[cubanx]

Best case i've owned so far. PSU seems excellent as i've had no power related problems and I run 4 CCFL's on my overclocked rig.

See SIG for PICS.

 

[nageov3t]

it's a pretty nice case.

my only complaints are that it's kinda small. I ran out of 5.25" bays pretty quickly, and hiding the wires is a pain, because you can't take off the right-side panel.

the side holes *do* let in a lot of dust, but they also look pretty cool with cold cathodes behind them.

 

[SneakyStuff]

The 3700bqu is an alternative, it is VERY similar to the Sonota.

 

[MDE]

Not many complaints about mine except that dust and fingerprints show very easily. I covered up the Antec holes with black foam so that some air still gets through but is also filtered.

 

[mynewrigissick]

yes there is i have a 120mm fan in the front of my antec sonata and runs fine!

 

[Granorense]

Nice case, I got one and would consider buying another one at any time!.

 

[nick1985]

can someone post pics of the sonata in the dark so i can get an idea of how bright the blue LEDs in the front are?

 

[Nickc19]

Do any of yall that have Sonata's know if a 38mm thick fan will fit in the front? Mine should be here tomorrow and I wanted to buy a Panaflo 120mm fan to put up there but they only come 38mm thick. Anybody?

-Nick-

 

[beverage]

Originally posted by: Nickc19
Do any of yall that have Sonata's know if a 38mm thick fan will fit in the front? Mine should be here tomorrow and I wanted to buy a Panaflo 120mm fan to put up there but they only come 38mm thick. Anybody?

-Nick-

I had read before about people having problems with this, but after I got my Sonata and installed my front fan (vantec stealth) I don't see what the problem could be. Possibly the only problem i could see you running into regarding depth of the fan would be if you have a super SUPER long PCI card that runs from nearly the back of the system to the very front edge of the motherboard.

 

[Nickc19]

Originally posted by: beverage
I had read before about people having problems with this, but after I got my Sonata and installed my front fan (vantec stealth) I don't see what the problem could be. Possibly the only problem i could see you running into regarding depth of the fan would be if you have a super SUPER long PCI card that runs from nearly the back of the system to the very front edge of the motherboard.[/quote]

Do you by any chance have a picture of the inside of your case? I've read about fitting problems too so I wonder what exactly people have had problems with then. I'm just hesitant to shell out 15-20 bucks for a fan to find out.

-Nick-

 

[athakur999]

Originally posted by: nick1985
can someone post pics of the sonata in the dark so i can get an idea of how bright the blue LEDs in the front are?

The Tech Report has a good picture in their review:

Text

 

[beverage]

Originally posted by: Nickc19
Originally posted by: beverage
I had read before about people having problems with this, but after I got my Sonata and installed my front fan (vantec stealth) I don't see what the problem could be. Possibly the only problem i could see you running into regarding depth of the fan would be if you have a super SUPER long PCI card that runs from nearly the back of the system to the very front edge of the motherboard.

Do you by any chance have a picture of the inside of your case? I've read about fitting problems too so I wonder what exactly people have had problems with then. I'm just hesitant to shell out 15-20 bucks for a fan to find out.

-Nick-[/quote]

I'll take one and upload it tuesday after work.

 

[Nickc19]

Originally posted by: beverage
I'll take one and upload it tuesday after work.

Alright, thanks alot.

-Nick-

 

[mb]

Do you think the PSU can run a 6800GT ok along with 3 optical drives, 3 hard drives with a A64 3500+?

 

[D4L]

How does this case compare to Super LANBOY, if it can be compared. If it cannot be compared to this case what other cases are out there that can be compared to Sonata case? Also can anyone tell me what is a good price on this case?

 

[Nickc19]

Originally posted by: D4L
Also can anyone tell me what is a good price on this case?

Well a couple months ago there was one store that was having a huge either sale or rebate on them and some people got them for like 40 bucks, maybe less (I believe it was Staples). Now though, the best you'll probably find is Amazon.com, who had them for 99 bucks + free shipping last time I checked. Its also on Newegg for 99 bucks but the shipping is 15 bucks right now. Keep looking and they'll probably have it with free shipping soon (last week it was). Other places online you can find them a little cheaper but with their shipping rates you wont save any money. To compare what you might pay for it in a store, I saw one at Circuit City the other day and it was $129.

-Nick-

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Nickc19

Originally posted by: D4L
Also can anyone tell me what is a good price on this case?

Well a couple months ago there was one store that was having a huge either sale or rebate on them and some people got them for like 40 bucks, maybe less (I believe it was Staples). Now though, the best you'll probably find is Amazon.com, who had them for 99 bucks + free shipping last time I checked. Its also on Newegg for 99 bucks but the shipping is 15 bucks right now. Keep looking and they'll probably have it with free shipping soon (last week it was). Other places online you can find them a little cheaper but with their shipping rates you wont save any money. To compare what you might pay for it in a store, I saw one at Circuit City the other day and it was $129.

-Nick-

also, from wut i hear, the 6800GT will require a 480W PSU, which is another reason y ATI pwnz! you should get the radeon since performance is the same or greater and it will work fine with a 380W psu. as with the sonata and the super lanboy, they are my 2 favorite antec cases and are 2 of my 3 favorites cases that i wish to have. between the sonata and teh super lanboy, the sonata has a great psu, unlike the super lanboy that doesnt have any, meaning it will cost you more money to get the superlanboy operational. also, since the lanboy has a window, that means it will be noisier then the sonata, but not by much. in my opinion, i would get the sonata if i want elegance and "prettiness", and the lanboy if i wanted something funky and cool lookin. BUT, i'd only get the lanboy myself if i got a dfi lanparty motherboard with the sweet UV sensitive features.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: Nickc19

Originally posted by: D4L
Also can anyone tell me what is a good price on this case?

Well a couple months ago there was one store that was having a huge either sale or rebate on them and some people got them for like 40 bucks, maybe less (I believe it was Staples). Now though, the best you'll probably find is Amazon.com, who had them for 99 bucks + free shipping last time I checked. Its also on Newegg for 99 bucks but the shipping is 15 bucks right now. Keep looking and they'll probably have it with free shipping soon (last week it was). Other places online you can find them a little cheaper but with their shipping rates you wont save any money. To compare what you might pay for it in a store, I saw one at Circuit City the other day and it was $129.

-Nick-

also, from wut i hear, the 6800GT will require a 480W PSU, which is another reason y ATI pwnz! you should get the radeon since performance is the same or greater and it will work fine with a 380W psu. as with the sonata and the super lanboy, they are my 2 favorite antec cases and are 2 of my 3 favorites cases that i wish to have. between the sonata and teh super lanboy, the sonata has a great psu, unlike the super lanboy that doesnt have any, meaning it will cost you more money to get the superlanboy operational. also, since the lanboy has a window, that means it will be noisier then the sonata, but not by much. in my opinion, i would get the sonata if i want elegance and "prettiness", and the lanboy if i wanted something funky and cool lookin. BUT, i'd only get the lanboy myself if i got a dfi lanparty motherboard with the sweet UV sensitive features.

pfff....the antec true 380 will handle the 6800 with no problem...

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: Nickc19

Originally posted by: D4L
Also can anyone tell me what is a good price on this case?

Well a couple months ago there was one store that was having a huge either sale or rebate on them and some people got them for like 40 bucks, maybe less (I believe it was Staples). Now though, the best you'll probably find is Amazon.com, who had them for 99 bucks + free shipping last time I checked. Its also on Newegg for 99 bucks but the shipping is 15 bucks right now. Keep looking and they'll probably have it with free shipping soon (last week it was). Other places online you can find them a little cheaper but with their shipping rates you wont save any money. To compare what you might pay for it in a store, I saw one at Circuit City the other day and it was $129.

-Nick-

also, from wut i hear, the 6800GT will require a 480W PSU, which is another reason y ATI pwnz! you should get the radeon since performance is the same or greater and it will work fine with a 380W psu. as with the sonata and the super lanboy, they are my 2 favorite antec cases and are 2 of my 3 favorites cases that i wish to have. between the sonata and teh super lanboy, the sonata has a great psu, unlike the super lanboy that doesnt have any, meaning it will cost you more money to get the superlanboy operational. also, since the lanboy has a window, that means it will be noisier then the sonata, but not by much. in my opinion, i would get the sonata if i want elegance and "prettiness", and the lanboy if i wanted something funky and cool lookin. BUT, i'd only get the lanboy myself if i got a dfi lanparty motherboard with the sweet UV sensitive features.

pfff....the antec true 380 will handle the 6800 with no problem...

I hope so too

 

[beverage]

Pics of the inside of my Sonata:

Inside Full
Inside Fan

Also, if you know the right people and act at the right times, the Sonata can be had for under $70